ABOUT
This website is primarily a blog, illustrated with photographs, about two-month solo drives I took across America in the summers of 2021 and 2023, following the paths of indigenous people on trading or hunting journeys, to 15th-century Spanish conquistadors searching for gold, to European homesteaders heading West, to 19th-, 20th- and 21st century nomads, traveling by car or RV.
I left Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on May 13, 2021, newly vaccinated, with the country just emerging from a year-plus lockdown. I wanted to know, what’s going on in the small towns and cites of America? How does the America I found, in my brief, relatively luxurious trip, compare to the country others have discovered and written about? I met many Americans eager to talk, most unprompted, about their lives and ideas on that day, in that moment, when I happened upon them.
That journey ended in mid-July, when the Delta variant of Covid 19 had again reared its Gorgon head, threatening further lockdowns. Campaigns to vaccinate all Americans ramped up as well, and many in my smallish college town, strapped on their masks again. All that fall and spring, both I and my students attended class masked.
The next summer, with the disease apparently waning, off I drove again, this time to explore the swaths of the Northeast and Northwest America and eastern Canada that I’d missed on my first trip. I’d cross the tribal lands of the Algonquin, Dakota, Lakota, Nakota, Oglala, Annishinabe, Appsaalooke, Arapaho, Shoshone, Washoe, Ute, Paiute, Dine, and Spirit Lake nations, and hundreds more. I’ve posted essays and photos in fits and starts; one day, this blog will be a two-eyed view of a tiny percentage of America’s and Canada’s cities, towns, crossroads, mountains, rivers, forests, and desert in the early 21st century. I hope you enjoy it—but you’re welcome to take issue with any of it (civil commentary is always welcome).
Writing & Editing Consults for Artists
(and others)
Need help writing or editing your artist statement, grant application, marketing materials, or whatever? I’m an experienced writing consultant and editor, and would be glad to discuss your projects with you.
Lisa Carl, PhD, English
Principal, Carl Communications: Public Relations Writing Editing, Book Editing, Publication Management
Co-author, Academic Writing, Real World Topics: Concise Edition. Textbook. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2015. With Michael Rectenwald.
—. Academic Writing, Real World Topics: Concise Edition. Textbook. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2017. With Michael Rectenwald.
Professional Editing Experience
Principal, Carl Communications: Public Relations Writing Editing, Book Editing, Publication Management
Clients:
· Sheri Castle, Instantly Southern: 85 Southern Favorites for Your Pressure Cooker, Multicooker, and Instant Pot. Clarkson Potter, 2018. (cookbook copy editing)
· David Ortmann, Under the Boardwalk, 2019 (novel copy editing); “Age Play: Eros, Practicality, and Walking the Edge” (academic article copy editing)
· Kevin Thomas Morgan, What is Your Pain Trying to Tell You? 2017 (book editing)
---. Plantar Fasciitis Has the Wrong Name: A Whole-Body Approach to Curing Your Heel Pain.
2018 (book editing)
· Simone Handfield, college admissions essays (consultation, content and expression)
· Luc Handfield, college admissions essays (consultation, content and expression)
· Roger Brown, Short story collection, in progress. (book editing)
· Byron Butterworth, fiction and essay collection, in progress (book editing)
· Robert Handfield, The Living Supply Chain: Evolving Imperative of Operating in Real Time. Wiley, 2017; Supply Chain Management. Prentice-Hall, 2002. (book copy editing)
· Martin Zane Skalski. External Qualities: The Attributes of Line, Shape, Color, Gloss, Texture and Pattern (book copy editing)
· Muhammad H. Abbasi, Apparel Factories' Working Conditions and Brands' Reputations: Is a Workplace Feedback System the Answer? Dissertation, School of Business, North Carolina State University, 2018. (editing)
· Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (copy editor, education curriculum
documents)
· UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health (Publications Manager)
· RND Architects (writer, editor, website consultant)
· United Cerebral Palsy of New York City (editing, writing, news releases and other materials)
· UNC-Chapel Hill Facilities Services Department, Design and Construction Guidelines
(copy editing)
· Pratt Institute (Pratt Youth & Adult Services Coalition; Prattfolio Magazine)
(copy editing, writing)
· Algonquin Books: Wuori, G.K. Nude in Tub, 1999) (novel copy editing)
· Seven Stories Press: Vassilikos, Vassilis. … And Dreams Are Dreams, 1996. (novel copy editing)